Friday, August 24, 2012

Watermark







                        soul's wing, courtesy of Ella Wilson






Watermark

I listen to a broadcast
about food auctions
Expired comestibles
spare ribs and cheese curls
whose sell by date
has lapsed
yes, it’s come to this
                                                                                             

Who knows
about dreams?
Do they expire too
as arms wither
and language
grows meager

                                        Where there once
                                        was a full larder


The pheasants rose
a family in flight
They weren’t expecting us

returning to the land
that we turn over
every night in our dreams
bliss of vellum
watermarks
lucid with memory

The pheasants are rising
out of the grasses
A family of them
startled by our presence.
And we are
astonished by the beauty
of it all.

                                         a tail feather
                                         dew soaked
                                         new 


Written for Imaginary Garden with Real Toads, soul's wing; Theme Thursday "promise" and  for Poetry Jam, I straddle 2 genres: political and fantasy.

22 comments:

Kerry O'Connor said...

This is remarkable poetry: fresh, original, emotions your reader can immediately recognize presented in a whole new way. I loved it.

Brian Miller said...

intersting images here.....the food auctions are interesting to me...has it come to this? and that against the pheasants.....interesting...

Ella said...

I love your view...unique and beautiful images~
My favorite:
" returning to the land
that we turn over
every night in our dreams
bliss of vellum
watermarks
lucid with memory"

I so enjoyed your view :D

Fireblossom said...

I love the way you've written about the family of pheasants here. When pheasants take off, they make a great deal of noise; they could truly be said to "explode" upward. it's startling! And so I can picture this mutual startle in your poem just perfectly.

Thanks for your recent comments at Word Garden. They were fantastic.

Dave King said...

Fascinating to see where you took this image.

Mrsupole said...

I really like this poem and it somehow makes me think of the French Revolution and if things don't change here pretty soon then we may have one on our hands. Everyone I know is not better off then they were four years ago and most are barely getting by. Just enough money to pay bills and buy food but very little for anything else. We are not quite there but gettign close.

I can picture the pheasants flying up from the field. It would be spectacular.

Thanks for joining us with this weeks Theme Thursday.

God bless.

Mary said...

You've really managed to very effectively write to all three prompts. Nicely penned.

Helen said...

The combination of all three prompts resulted in an exceptional poem!

(I lived in South Minneapolis for 24 years .. still have many good friends there + one son in Richfield.)

Unknown said...

I really, really like this. I got the sense that you were warming up to your theme in the beginning though? Lovely textures, though, and a calm atmosphere.

Mary said...

Just have to add, this really was wonderfully creative...and to thank you for participating in Poetry Jam this week.

SandyCarlson said...

Astonishing in every way! Beautiful poem.

Cloudia said...

you carry a unique energy.
Thanks much for Crepiscule with Nellie by Thelonius Monk!



Aloha from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
=^..^=
> < } } ( ° >

anthonynorth said...

Excellent meeting of genres.

Dave King said...

I'm not so sure that fantasy and political are that far apart!

Seriously, though, your poetry is quite unique in my experience. I don't think I have come across anything quite like it before.

Please keep it coming!

Anonymous said...

wonderful imagination!

Laurie Kolp said...

The images from the first stanza are compelling and I really like the layout of your poem.

SandyCarlson said...

The metaphors here are astounding. What has become of us internally and externally.

Cloudia said...

from considerations of past & future to the PRESENT!


Aloha, Friend
from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
=^..^=

Jim said...

We had pheasants on Dad's farm in Nebraska where I grew up. He didn't hunt them and didn't let others do it either.

They found a nice safe home when they got to Dad's.
..

SandyCarlson said...

Gabrielle, your prompt "echo" comes up at OSI tomorrow. Do you have a poem for u?

Sandra said...

beautiful view...yes...original!

Grace said...

This is lovely and unique take to the picture ~ I specially like your question about dreams and this line: vellum watermarks lucid with memory ~